Following up a hugely successful single and album is often daunting, but by the sound of A Hundred Million Suns Snow Patrol was anything but intimidated. Suns capitalizes on what the band does best; a well-concocted blend of muscular rock that is tempered only by the emotionally charged lyrics of frontman Gary Lightbody.

The band comes out swinging with the rousing, anthemic rocker "If There's A Rocket Tie Me to It". Grandiose arrangements are widespread throughout Suns, including "Crack the Shutters" and the album's first single "Take Back the City".

And while perhaps this is the side of Snow Patrol we're most comfortable with, the band sets out to challenge us on a number of occasions during Suns. The percussive handclaps and foot stomps on "The Golden Floor" are a new approach for the band. Yet, the boldest moment comes in the form of the 16 minute, three part finale entitled "The Lightning Strike".

Suns is an aggressive and powerful follow-up to the massively successful Eyes Open. Needless to say, the album is a welcomed return for Snow Patrol.

On his third album, Gossip in the Grain, Ray LaMontagne breaks out of his own mold a bit, relying less on lamenting love loss and seemingly is more centered on expanding into more hopeful musical territories . The album's opening track is evidence. "You Are the Best Thing" is perhaps, up to this point, the most optimistic we've ever heard Ray.

Throughout Gossip in the Grain Ray travels stylistically from the down-home, banjo laden "Hey Me, Hey Mama" to the jazzy and delicate "Sarah" to the ironically simplistic ode to "Meg White" (walking a line of playful and creepy). The ambitious and adventurous approach to Gossip in the Grain is a credit to both Ray and producer Ethan Johns, who was behind the board on both Trouble and Till The Sun Turns Black.

While Ray appears more confident and daring on this new effort, the vulnerability that was so endearing too many still does exist. Tracks like "Let It Be Me" and "I Still Care For You" could easily accompany any of Ray's earlier works.

Gossip in the Grain continues to establish Ray as an important voice and really is the progression you expect yet so rarely receive from your favorite artists.

Rachael Yamagata has hardly been idle since her acclaimed 2004 full-length debut, Happenstance, and its Adult Top 40 hit 'Worn Me Down.' So for her Warner Bros. premiere, the singer-songwriter-pianist with the sultry voice unveils a double disc set: Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart.

Produced largely by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Faint), and also John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Happenstance), Elephants is darker and more vulnerable while the more guitar-driven Teeth Sinking Into Heart is grittier and more defiantly cynical. Together, they reveal the two sides of one of today's most entrancing artists.CD of The Month - October 2008
Every month, the station's soothsayers and tastemakers select what they consider to be the best of the new. As a CDOM Club member, you'll receive all twelve of the CD of the Month selections during the year along with all of our special XPN releases -- including Live at the World Cafe CDs and XPN New Music Samplers. That's at least 16 CDs total!

Twenty years after they started to bring the grunge revolution out of
the Pacific Northwest, the resilient music lovers at Sub Pop Records
have now given us a band with brilliant five-part harmonies and a
decidedly hippie-esque world view that owes as much to Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Beach Boys as Mudhoney did to Iggy & The Stooges.

Fleet Foxes' debut full-length album will make you recall lots of sounds
you've heard somewhere before, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

The self-titled album's songs actually remind me more of some of My Morning Jacket's quieter moments, but those absolutely gorgeous harmonies and understated but pristine Phil Ek production gives the Foxes a pass on any musical pilfering - conscious or otherwise - that they may be accused of. Standouts include the downright pastoral "White Winter Hymnal" (which sounds as peaceful and beautiful as its' title), "Quiet Houses", and "Heard Them Strirring", just to name a few. Chief songwriter and frontman Ryan Pecknold waxes poetic throughout, and his lovely, muted takes on nature (human and otherwise), are unique and
downright quaint.

I doubt if you'll find a more consistently beautiful listen all year
long. Fleet Foxes sounds to me - right now, anyway - as an album that you'll wanna throw on to celebrate all the seasons, or just ponder
things. An excellent album from start to finish.

Amos Lee's music on his third album Last Days At The Lodge, on Blue Note, continues to be a compelling mix of soul, folk, and blues music. The new album was produced by Don Was. The CD features Amos on guitars/vocals, Doyle Bramhall, Jr. (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Aretha Franklin) on keys, Pino Palladino (The Who) on bass, and James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums.

His first two releases Amos Lee (2005) and Supply and Demand (2006) were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums.

Last Days At The Lodge is a musical portrait that opens with "Listen" the suggestion to be aware
of the world we live in and showcases a rockier side of Amos. If it's the love songs that have drawn you to his music check out "Baby I Want You," and the soulful "Won't Let Me Go." There are the folk influenced songs "Ease Back" and insightful "Better Days," the powerful tone of "Kid" are songs that make this album Amos Lee's best. If you are a fan of Amos Lee, this is an album to add to your music library.

We began the Artist to Watch program at WXPN in 2003 and I nominated Philadelphia's Amos Lee as the Philly Local Artist to Watch. He was an obvious choice - talented, an amazing voice and a great songwriter! He has had the opportunity to tour with Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, John Prine, Elvis Costello, and has performed on Letterman, Leno and the World Cafe.

In the midst of his current national tour, Amos Lee will be performing at our XPoNential Music Festival, presented by Subaru (2008) on Saturday, July 12 th at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront. Tickets and info are available here.

In what seems to me like the next logical step after 2005's Z, MMJ takes a step further with the deep soundscape of Evil Urges. In the title track Jim James' soaring and strangely beautiful falsetto is back in all of its "Wordless Chorus" style glory, and the lyrics are as eloquently simple as ever, in particular the chorus – "... evil urges... they're just part of the human race, but it ain't evil if it ain't hurting anybody." Strings accompany the distinctively Southern rock tinged guitar work and just when you think Jim's "I'm Ready for It Now" crooning is going to fade into sweet R&B oblivion the song heads into a completely different direction with a sweet country-fried, crunchy breakdown, bringing it all back home. This one is on permanent repeat. The next track to greet the listener is the slow groove "Touch Me I Think I'm Going To Scream Part 1". To me, not an overly outstanding song on it's own, it does act as the perfect bridge to what will undoubtedly be mine and many other's guilty pleasure of the summer - "Highly Suspicious." Again Jim's falsetto verges on a sonic orgasm, drawing clear comparisons to Prince. This could be a breakout surprise hit; I could see gangs of dancers getting down to the ground to the space-funk groove of the "Peanut-Butter-Pudding-Surprise" and the maniacal giggling. As groovy and downright fun as this track is, I could also see it being a pretty big turnoff for some diehard It Still Moves fans. Because this sure as hell ain't no "One Big Holiday." But the same folks should be very happy with "I'm Amazed", which is a straight ahead rocker in true MMJ southern rock fashion. Short, sweet with a rocking guitar outro, "I'm Amazed" should please all but the most discerning OG MMJ fan. "Thank You Too" leads the listener back into the R&B side of the Jacket; this one feels to me like a 70's R&B standard and contains some of my favorite lyrics of the offering. "Sec Walkin" is a sweet return to the "slow-burn" of pervious MMJ songs but still contains many R&B elements that tie together Evil Urges, especially the "Brother, don't you care?" section which sounds like an outtake from "What's Going On?" The predictable, but still enjoyable "Two Halves" leads to what may be the most interesting track on the record, "Librarian." Sparse and quiet with minimal instrumentation, the lyrics "When God give us mirrors, he had no idea" stand out amongst a tale of inner vs. outer beauty. "Look At You" seems to be a pretty clear example of Jim's faith and religion. But where Mr. Zimmerman came out with fire and brimstone on Slow Train Coming, Jim gives a gentle portrayal of his faith, which is very refreshing, uplifting and touching. For those you who are getting impatient and are missing the rock, look no further than "Aluminum Park." This rocker definitely harkens back to straight ahead tracks such as Z's "Anytime" and "What A Wonderful Man," complete with the trademark screams. "Remnants" is another rocker, at least compared with the R&B tracks in the first quarter of the record and the introspective numbers through the middle, which draws distinctive comparisons to Pearl Jam, at least to my casual Pearl Jam-listener ears, but with unmistakable MMJ-ness thrown in. I'm sure I'll catch some heat from this, but "Smokin' From Shootin" is hands down my favorite track of the record. For me, this is a classic track and shows James' gift for melody and phrasing and proves his worth as a songwriter. The track starts out simply and continues to build with soaring melodies and building intensity. This track both highlights the raw talent that was evident on The Tennessee Fire but still shows James' growth as a songwriter. "Touch Me I Think I'm Going To Scream Part 2" rockets the listener back to club world with a four-on-the-floor dance groove, synth leads and soaring vocals that are right at home in the current "alterna-dance" scene.

Evil Urges, as I said, has tons and tons of anticipation surrounding it. Personally, I can't ever remember being this excited for a new record, and I am not let down or disappointed in the least, although I am still slightly stunned. Will Evil Urges surpass Z as my favorite record of the 2000's? Only time will tell, but there is one thing I can be sure of – My Morning Jacket are not going anywhere but up, and the writing on the wall says to me that this very deserving band could soon be enjoying some serious mainstream success.

Death Cab for Cutie is a band that boasts two of the very best artists in all of indie-dom: singer Ben Gibbard, who's blessed with an amazing, natural voice, and guitarist and producer Chris Walla, who has the knack of making everything he touches sound real and epic at the same time. The talent is certainly on display on this new album, Narrow Stairs, but the subject matter is much more suffocating.

Even when the music is bouncy – like on \"No Sunlight\" – the words (\"... it disappeared at the same speed as the idealistic things I believed; when the optimist inside of me died...\") are anything but. Not that this is necessarily bad, however. A good dark tale works just fine, so Death Cab returns to that sentiment over and over on Narrow Stairs. Check out \"Grapevine\", \"Cath\", and \"Pity And Fear\" for evidence of that assertion. Again, though, the confident playing, bright Walla production and remarkable pipes on Gibbard save the listening experience from being any kind of a bummer. There are few bands – past or present – who can pull off such a feat. Perhaps the best example of this is track #6 – \"You Can Do Better Than Me.\" The tune is musically like a Pet Sounds outtake, but the song\'s very first line (\"I\'m starting to feel we stay together out of fear of dying alone...\") keeps with the album\'s overall dichotomy.

On her third full-length album, Canadian Kathleen Edwards has once again proven herself to be among the very best of the young songwriters out there. Combining an interesting worldview with a very honest voice and plenty of attitude, this 29-year-old has stepped up in several ways on this new release, Asking For Flowers.

Edwards\' main strength remains her songwriting, but her voice is a close second. Certainly not a classic \"great\" vocalist, she uses what she has better than just about any other singer-songwriter, never overdoing the emotions. It\'s certainly refreshing to the ear to hear a vocalist stay in their comfort zone, and it adds overall credibility to all of the proceedings. Her witty rocker \"The Cheapest Key\" starts with an alphabetical list of her problems with her lover, and culminates in a sweet, simple chorus that\'ll have you humming it for days. Elsewhere, weightier world issues are explored, not the least of which is the striking \"O Canada\" that reminds us that the U.S.A. hasn\'t cornered the market on creepy people. \"Oil Man\'s War\" is a great story, a movie script in the making, if you ask me, buoyed once again by a simple, effective riff and melody. The countrified \"I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory\" name checks Marty McSorely and a Dodge Fargo in the same verse, which is pretty damn funny in and of itself.

A great third album, and I just know she\'s not going to let us down any time soon (if ever).

Sounding rested and refreshed, Joe Jackson's new stripped-down album Rain harkens back to the Night And Day era. Always a talented tunesmith, Jackson has given us an album that plays to his strengths.

Utilizing former bandmates Graham Maby and Dave Houghton, Jackson's new album is musically tight and lyrically tough. "King Pleasure Time" and "Good Bad Boy" seem to be throwbacks to the post-punk, early days of MTV when Jackson was becoming a household name. "Invisible Man" and "Too Tough" are quintessential Jackson mature pop pieces, with outstanding playing and memorable melodies.

A very listenable collection, Rain is another chapter in a challenging, multi-layered career.

Written by Dan Reed

XPN Featured Album of the Week January 28, 2008 and CD of the Month for February 2008!

It's hard not to compare Ryan Bingham to some other Texas troubadour heavyweights. Hints of Joe Ely, Steve Earle and - most notably - Townes Van Zant permeate his Lost Highway records debut Mescalito. This is not to say that he hasn't already developed his own voice, but these songs are just as dusty and heartfelt as his predecessors.

Lost Highway's "other Ryan" is a great find, and should have a great future. His bio is worth reading in order to gain a deeper appreciation of his work here. From the first single "Southside Of Heaven" to "Bread & Water" to the remarkable "The Other Side", Bingham's songs find their way to your head and heart in true storyteller fashion. This 25-year-old's voice (decidedly raspy) and real-life struggles kind of instantly make you sit up and take notice.

We come across tons and tons of new songwriters here, but few pack the emotional wallop of this kid. He's the kind of artist that will undoubtedly attract a rapid cult following, but we think that his talents may enable his work to resonate beyond the chosen few.

Written by Dan Reed

Featured Album of the Week January 7, 2008 | CD of the Month - March, 2008